Gackle, ND

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. ~World Health Organization, 1948

It’s been 60 years since this statement was written and people still haven’t taken it to heart. With all that is happening today with the health insurance crisis you would think that people would begin to see the light and take charge of their wellbeing. If we have poor health it seems like it’s always somebody else’s fault or we have some quick but expensive fix–there is a pill for everything.

I think if we just started to take care of our “whole” selves and use common sense we would greatly improve our health. So why couldn’t we do this together? And why couldn’t we do it right here in Gackle? I’ve been thinking about this a lot and was delighted to read the following article in the Tri-County News about local resident and Gackle Horizons coordinator Mary Conrad.

Her graduate-level scholarship study topic, Bringing Natural Health to Main Street on the Prairie, will be worked on while living right here in Gackle. This gives her a perfect laboratory for experimentation and I for one will be a supportive “lab-rat”. I think this project could open many wonderful opportunities and lead to a movement towards healthy living for our town.

Good Luck Mary!

March 6, 2008 - Miner County Story

Learn how they turned their struggling county into a success story…

Russ Pollock of Gackle with the help of Jodi Bruns, NDSU Extension, Ellendale have made arrangements for Miner County, South Dakota representatives to come an tell their story right here in Gackle! Hats off to all your hard work getting this organized. Don’t miss this presentation! Thursday evening, March 6, 2008, Gackle Legion Hall, 7-9 pm. Miner County pdf

…and one week later…

March 13, 2008 - Free Workshop Offered on Fundraising and Endowment Development

The North Dakota Community Foundation will offer a one day workshop for area residents on Thursday, March 13 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church at 117 Spruce Street West in Gackle. Grant workshop.pdf

You might be wondering… GAAG …what’s that?

Mayor Ritchie Jacobson coined this acronym for the Gackle Arts Advisory Group. Its actually a funny play on words. If you have ever tried to work with a group of artists to sit down and make a decision it can sometimes make you want to gag…you know, they have big egos, strong voices and highly emotional personalities. I’ve had the pleasure of this experience many times and while it can sometimes be painful it is always fruitful.

GAAG met for the first time on January 30, 2008. The group was formed as a result of Gackle’s new Strategic Plan. The first goal of the group was to develop new signs to identify our town and welcome visitors. The parameters were that the sign be simple, adaptable and within the $1500 budget provided by the Northwest Area Foundation Horizons grant.

Despite several notices in the newspaper, the turnout for the meeting was small but it was strong on talent. Four attended, Ritchie Jacobson (retired Jr. High art teacher), Dennis Terhark (professional sign painter), Deane Fay (professional artist) and Sally Jeppson (art gallery manager). The “guys” all went to art school together at what is now Minnesota State University Moorhead. Even with only four, the discussion was spirited. Ultimately the decision was made to keep the sign “clean, elegant” and with a “flexible” design that would allow for “tag-lines” to be added as Gackle’s “sense-of-place” evolves.

An important distinction was made in the wording…instead of Welcome to Gackle, the sign will read GackleWelcomes You, a phrase, the group felt was much more embracing and inclusive–a theme we, as a town, would like to strive to achieve.

GAAG hopes to attract more members and will actively recruit the crafters and art-lovers that weren’t present at the first meeting. Look for this group to develop some arts activities this summer and to help put an “artistic” spin on community beautification.

The Horizons program has provided Gackle residents with a mini-library dedicated to Leadership. The mini-library contains both books and videos and is available to everyone. These books complement the community building process and community leader development process that had been taking place over the past year. It’s a great selection for any aspiring entrepreneur…so go get inspired, educated and become a Gackle leader.

I was finally able to get a video uploaded of Tom Isern reading the Horizons limericks. Unfortunately it doesn’t have every verse but it shows great enthusiasm for the process. Go back and check it out on the January 29th Blog post. After a bit more practice I was able to get the “cheer” video edited — click the link below.

The “cheerleaders” shown in the video are Gackle’s own mayor Ritchie Jacobson and Peggy Schroeder, Barb Schmidt and Mary Jo Fries. Thanks to all of them for such enthusiasm!

Its a first try at downloading from camera to computer, then edited to small video clips, pieced together and uploaded to Yahoo video. Took some time and some grumbling!

Amazing what you can do when you keep at it… a theme we can apply to the WHOLE Horizons endeavor.